This is London (Evening Standard online - UK)
February 27, 2001
By Steven Goldman

The setup is familiar. Major movie. High expectations. And a profound sense of unease. Joseph Fiennes has been down this road before.

Back in 1998, when the then 28-year-old actor was better known as Ralph Fiennes's younger brother, he got his first taste of what a successful movie career was really all about. The film was Shakespeare In Love. And the impact was inescapable both for its star and the multiplex alike. Propelled by Miramax Films in one of the most costly marketing campaigns on record, it went on to charm the Oscars that year before doing the same for audiences worldwide.

"It was great," says Fiennes, keeping his cards close to his chest. "It gave me a huge sort of exposure - exposure in a wonderful way in terms of scripts. And exposure in another way in terms of a slice of your privacy being taken away. Of course, it passed, like hype does... And then you move on."

With the memory of the Shakespeare juggernaut still fresh, Fiennes is, by turns, wry and circumspect as he discusses his new movie, Enemy at the Gates, from the plush confines of a New York hotel suite. Mostly, however, he simply seems uncomfortable with this business altogether - especially when the conversation turns to the subject of Joseph Fiennes himself.

Having retreated from the limelight by choice, he's slipped off the radar of late even if he remains a critical favourite. And he seems eager enough to keep things just as they are. Dressed in a dark blue suit, he attempts, successfully at first, to project a businesslike air. But it never quite manages to stifle the puckish charmer within.

"Joseph's very funny actually, he's a comedian at heart," insists Rachel Weisz, who appeared with Fiennes in his 1996 screen debut, Stealing Beauty, and co-stars in Enemy with fellow Brit-leads, Jude Law and Bob Hoskins. "But he's also got that incredible, brooding intensity. It's always there in those brown eyes."

"We met for a long afternoon in Toronto and I instantly adored him," agrees the film's director, Jean-Jacques Annaud. "I liked the fact that he was a cerebral person, yet charismatic and handsome as well. He was my very first choice for this movie and I built the cast around him."

Enemy at the Gates, which opens nationwide next month, is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year (and one likely to draw comparisons with Saving Private Ryan for its battle sequences). Based on the exploits of Vassili Zaitsev, a national hero in Russia, it centres on the German siege of Stalingrad in 1942. As played by Jude Law, Zaitsev is the legendary sniper who outwits German military superiority by picking off its top brass. Fiennes plays the Soviet propaganda officer, Danilov, who spins these exploits on the front pages of Pravda to boost the morale of the entire Russian war effort. It's the second lead to be sure, with Law - in his first central role proper - likely to attract the bulk of the media blitz this time out. Not surprisingly, this doesn't seem to bother Fiennes at all. "If my agent told me something was 'damaging', I would almost certainly do it just to spite him anyway," he quips, noting his main attraction to the role was the limited historical record surrounding the character he plays. "That's great for an actor," he laughs. "Because you can do what you want and no one can question you."

Fiennes has been doing just that for some time. Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, he is - along with twin brother, Jake (a gamekeeper) - the youngest of six. His upbringing, however charming, was unconventional. The arts loving boho family moved 14 times in nearly as many years when Joseph was a child - with homes in the West Country, London and Ireland. Though he left school at 16 to study art, he quickly followed his eldest brother's example and turned his attention to the theatre instead. The Young Vic, the Guildhall and the RSC all featured prominently in his early career. And the stage, he says, remains his first love.

With all but one Fiennes sibling currently involved in the performing arts, he maintains that the heady success of brother Ralph (Schindler's List; The English Patient) was never a burden. "There were so many of us in-between that the weight was distributed evenly," he says now, no longer bothered by the inescapable comparisons which initially greeted his film career. Indeed, with all the attention that has surrounded him of late, it's easy to forget that Fiennes was a relative unknown outside the West End five years ago.

Following a bit part in Stealing Beauty and the low-budget British film Martha Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence, Fiennes sprang to prominence in 1998 with the one two punch of Elizabeth (opposite Cate Blanchett) and Shakespeare In Love (with Gwyneth Paltrow). But rather than capitalise on his success, he instead retreated, taking a six-month break to travel before returning to the theatre and independent films.

"It's what I believed in. And I wanted to live true to my word about jumping from one extreme to the other and not get caught up in the need to 'follow up'," he says of his decision to remain in Britain. "I guess I feel that too much attention, too much Press, too much focus, takes away... I don't feel I need that again... Personally I'm always attracted to an actor who hasn't done much. I'd rather watch the character they create, than watch a celebrity carving out another role."

That latter scenario, nevertheless, would seem Fiennes's most likely future, even with the balance of independent cinema and stage work. Though he questions his sacrifice of privacy, he has in fact managed well to avoid media scrutiny over much of the past two years. Previously linked with actresses Sara Griffiths and Catherine McCormack, he is less than forthcoming on the subject of women. "I'm happily ensconced," he says now, when asked about his love life. Nothing more. Did turning 30 last May give him pause for personal reflection? If it did, Joseph's not saying. "The most terrifying element was playing host at my own birthday party," he laughs.

With Enemy at the Gates gearing up for a major UK release, Fiennes will only be providing minimal promotional support. Having recently finished filming Chen Kaige's Killing Me Softly, he has returned to the theatre and can currently be seen in Sheffield in Edward II. But even Fiennes would be pressed to rule out totally another return to big-budget film-making and all that goes with it.

"I'd love to be flip and say the hardest thing about it was going from a night club early in the morning to the set," he says of the monumental production of Enemy at the Gates, shot last winter in Germany. "But the thing is, it wasn't that challenging. Yes, it was cold and bleak. It was one of the longest shoots I've ever done. But I wouldn't sit here and pretend I got frostbite and lice and suffered for my art - I mean, there was a Winnebago and a hot cup of coffee there whenever I needed it."

Enemy at the Gates opens 16 March.